A Chinese take away owner has been fined £4,500 after failing to clean up his 'revolting' kitchen- where he used cardboard to soak up grease and had a broken fridge.

Hua Long Weng, 33, who owns the Dynasty Chinese take away near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire ignored requests to clean up his kitchen as 'no-one complained of food poisoning'.

Environmental health inspectors from North West Leicestershire District Council visited Dynasty first in 2012 and found cooked rice left out at room temperature, raw meat covered by tea towels and no soap or working hot water for the hand-wash sinks.

Health Inspectors who visited the Dynasty takeaway in Ashby-de-la-Zouch found duck left out on a counter the day after it had been cooked, pictured

They discovered that the takeaway's owner Hua Long Weng used cardboad to soak up grease that had spilled onto the floor, pictured

Mr Weng said he never bothered cleaning the kitchen of his Dynasty restaurant, pictured, because nobody had 'ever complained about food poisoning'

They said the takeaway suffered from 'a lack of cleanliness and potential cross contamination of foods- which could be a risk to public health'.

After written warnings spanning over a year, Weng did little to improve his kitchen.

In April 2013, inspectors found cooked duck was being kept in water instead of a fridge, an open can of puree which had mould on it and a wooden spatula with nails on which could have put splinters in food.

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The seal on the fridge had broken, work surfaces and cleaning towels were damaged and dirty and cardboard was being used to soak up grease.

Weng also failed to put netting over a doorway to stop flies coming in.

Although unhygienic, because the conditions did not pose an “imminent danger,” the take away was not closed down.

One of the many problems discovered in the kitchen of Dynasty takeaway was a filthy sink and inadequate hand-washing facilities, pictured

Large areas of the floor in the takeaway was covered in grease and filth, pictured

Inspectors also found a splintered spatula, pictured, which they feared could lose wood particles when it was used to stir food

At Leicester Crown Court, Weng said through a Mandarin interpreter: 'No-one complained of food poisoning from my shop, so I overlooked it.'

Judge Simon Hammond described the takeaway’s cooking and storage area as 'revolting, disgusting and filthy.

He had chances after chances to put this right and the hygiene officers were very fair.

'He was told what he had to do and he just didn’t do it.'

Weng admitted eight offences in breach of food hygiene regulations and failing to comply with an improvement notice and fined £4,500 with £2,188 costs.

Weng told the court he worked alone in the kitchen, with a part-time helper taking the orders.

Weng said: 'I have attended food hygiene classes,

'I made a mistake and I regret it but have now made improvements to my business.

'I understand the seriousness and the importance of public health.'

Afterwards, the council issued a statement saying they had a set programme of inspections and support methods to raise the standards of food businesses.

Councillor Alison Smith MBE, from North West Leicestershire District Council, said: 'It is disappointing that, despite a lot of support and advice on how to improve the hygiene at Dynasty Chinese Take Away, Mr Weng has not made steps to reduce the public health risk.

'We make it very clear that we are prepared to prosecute in order to keep the public safe when buying food in the district. However, this is our last option.

'We work incredibly hard with food business owners to improve hygiene in their businesses, and make sure they are compliant with legislation.

'In this case, a routine inspection by our Environmental Health team found serious breaches of food hygiene regulations. The owner was given many chances to make positive changes but failed to do this and has paid the price.'